The Casta cows (also referred to as Aure et Saint-Girons, Auroise and also Saint Gironnaise) are a multipurpose breed of domestic cattle from France.
Casta Cattle Characteristics
Casta cattle are a moderate to large sized creatures. They are usually grey in colour, but may also be chestnut-brown. Skin and mucous membranes of those animals are of pale colour.
Both cows and bulls usually have horns. And their horns are big and therefore are of lyre-shaped.
Average body elevation of these Casta cows is around 135 cm at the withers, and the bulls are slightly larger compared to cows.
Dwell body weight of the mature cows is approximately 600 kg. Along with the bulls on average weight approximately 900 kg.
Casta Cattle Advantages
Casta cows were formerly utilized as triple-purpose animals. Previously they were utilized for beef and milk production. And were used for purposes.
The Casta cows are very hardy animals. They were formerly used for draught functions that were hardy. But now, the strain is largely kept for meat production function.
The breed is also great for milk production. Their milk is of good quality. And milk of this Casta cows has a high fat content and is employed in the production of Bethmale cheese.
Facts
It’s an endangered breed that originates in the. It was named for it has two principal areas of origin, the area of Saint-Girons along with the Couserans in the Ariège along with the Vallée d’Aure in the département of their Hautes-Pyrénées.
Along with the name”Casta” derives from their chestnut coloration.
The breed is one of the Midi’s earliest cattle breeds. Two types of those animals were recognized traditionally from two distinct areas of the range.
The Casta cattle were discovered in the area of Tarbes from the west into Foix in the east, throughout the Pyrénées that was large.
In 1990 the breed was officially named as the”race bovine d’Aure et p Saint-Girons”. A herdbook for the strain was created in 1919 or in 1901.
There was some limited cross-breeding with the Bazadais cows throughout the 1960s. Overall population of those Casta cattle fell from roughly 30,000 to less than 9,000 animals between 1930 and 1958.
Overall population of this breed dropped still farther in the years after the Second World War.
And there were just 76 cows available by the 1983 in 12 farms. But complete population of this Casta cows breed was estimated at 427 mind in 2005, and approximately 320 animals were available in 2014.
The breed was listed by the FAO as ‘endangered-maintained’.
Casta Cattle Breed Information
| Breed Name | Casta |
| Other Name | Also known as Aure et Saint-Girons, Auroise and Saint Gironnaise |
| Breed Purpose | Milk, meat draught |
| Special Notes | Well adapted to native climates, very good for meat production, hardy, good for milk, good quality meat, good for draught purposes |
| Breed Size | Medium to large |
| Weight Bulls | Around 900 kg |
| Cows | Around 600 kg |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates |
| Coat Color | Generally grey, but may also be chestnut-brown |
| Horned | Yes |
| Milk Yield | Good |
| Rarity | Common |
| Country/Place of Origin | France |
